Standard shower head assemblies are known in the art that have an adjustment ring that can be turned to vary the type and amount of water flow from the shower head. The ring can vary the volume of water flowing through the shower head and can switch the shower head between different spray modes, for instance concentrating flow from a single central large diameter orifice or from an array of peripheral small-diameter orifices or nozzles.
Numerous other shower head assemblies are known in the art that can be adjusted to discharge a continuous spray or a pulsating spray. Typical of such shower heads are those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,801,019, 4,068,801, and 4,254,914. U.S. Pat. No. 3,801,019, for example, discloses a spray nozzle capable of delivering both a spray of water and pulsating water, and employing three sets of flow passages. Control of the frequency of pulsation or the apportionment of spray through the flow passages is accomplished by adjusting a shuttered plate relative to a flow directing plate. U.S. Pat. No. 4,068,801 discloses a spray head in which the water is caused to rotate and drive a rotor. The rotor has openings that pass intermittently across jet nozzles (for pulsating spray) or perforations (for steady spray).
These designs have been bulky and complex in that they require a variety of parts that increase the cost of the shower head. Additionally, it has been found that because of the many moving parts, these prior designs are susceptible to problems from build-up of water deposits. These concerns fostered new designs, including those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,246,139, 5,398,372, and 5,518,181. U.S. Pat. No. 5,246,159 discloses a shower head with a rotatable valve element that rotates with respect to a partition disk. The shower head has a plurality of apertures that when the valve element is rotated through a variety of positions direct the water flow through the appropriate apertures.
None of these designs effectively solved the problem of decreasing the bulk, complexity, cost, and water deposit build-up, while providing an efficient shower head. Moreover, these shower head designs have not effectively incorporated a shut-off valve or toggle valve mechanism that not only allows the flow to be varied by manipulation of the shower head, but also allows the flow to be shut off.